Jul 6 2010
Nanoporous anodic alumina films are versatile materials that can be used as templates in the fabrication of miniscule multifunctional objects for electronics and energy storage, such as nanotubes and nanowires. Unfortunately, the tedious small-scale techniques required to manufacture these films limits their implementation in industrial processes.
A team led by Tanu Kustandi from the A*STAR Institute of Materials Research and Engineering in Singapore has now developed a microfabrication procedure that is compatible with those used in the semiconductor industry to generate highly ordered nanoporous alumina films on large silicon wafers1.
“Conventionally, films are prepared via a mechanical indentation approach, in which a master stamp is pressed onto an aluminum surface at very high pressure,” explains Kustandi. However, this approach tends to break the underlying substrate that supports the aluminum films.
Click here to read the full story.